In many industries, consumers order a product based on a specification, and subsequent to their order, the product is manufactured based on a formulation that specifies a plurality of components and a particular method, procedure, or recipe to be followed. Once the product is made, it is shipped by the producer to the consumer. In such industries where an order is placed prior to manufacturing, orders are based on expected characteristics and costs of the product. When the product is made at a later date, it is important that the product be made and delivered according to the expected characteristics and costs.
In practice, however, changes often occur during the manufacturing and shipping process due to a variety of factors, such as an unavailability of components, a failure to include the correct quantity of a component specified in the recipe, or the addition of a component that is not listed in or is consistent with the formulation. Such changes may occur due to human error, either accidental or deliberate, or due to formulations being maintained in a non-normalized fashion such as in multiple disconnected systems, or due to malfunction of a device involved in the production system, or due to unforeseen events. Furthermore, a component specified in the formulation may be incorrectly batched, or knowingly or unknowingly replaced with assumed equivalent components because the raw materials are not available, or for other reasons. One well known example is the use of either sucrose or high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks. Typically, during production of a soft drink, one of these two sweeteners is selected and used depending upon the cost and availability of the sweetener at the time when the soft drink product is manufactured.
Similar practices are used in the ready mix concrete industry. A given mixture of concrete, defined by a particular formulation (specifying types of components and quantities thereof), may be produced differently at different production facilities and/or at different times, depending on a variety of factors. For example, the types and quantities of cement and Pozzolanic cementitious materials, chemicals, different types of aggregates used often varies between batches, due to human error, or for reasons which may be specific to the time and location of production. Some components may not be available in all parts of the world, a component may be incorrectly batched, components may be replaced deliberately or accidentally, etc. Furthermore, in the ready mix concrete industry, it is common for changes in the mixed composition to occur during transport of the product. For example, water and/or chemicals may be added due to weather, or due to the length of time spent in transit to the site where the ready mix concrete is poured, or due to customer demands. Changes to a mixture may also occur during the batching process. For example, an incorrect amount of a critical component such as water or cementitious may be added. Similarly, an incorrect amount of fly ash or other pozzolans, such as slag, may be used to make the cementitious portion. Furthermore, it is common industry practice to make certain changes to a concrete mixture while the mixture is being transported in a mixer truck. For example, the driver may add water at various stages during transport. Such practices may be prone to human error.
Due to the reasons set forth above, a customer often receives a product which differs from the product ordered. The quality of the product may not meet expectations. Furthermore, any change made to a product may impact the producer's cost and profits.
In addition, in many industries, various activities important to a producer's business, such as sales, purchasing of raw materials, production, and transport, are conducted independently of one another. The disjointed nature of the sales, purchasing of raw materials, production, and transport creates an additional hindrance to the producer's, and the customer's, ability to control the quality and cost of the final product.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved production management systems that provide, to producers and to customers, greater control over various aspects of the production system used to produce a product, and thereby provide greater control over quality and costs.